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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29145894">Heart of a Champion</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/thejilyship/pseuds/thejilyship'>thejilyship</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Arranged Marriage, F/F, Female James Potter, Friends to Lovers, Royalty AU, Yearning, fem!Jily, jily, soft girls</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 08:35:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,754</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29145894</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/thejilyship/pseuds/thejilyship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Whoever wins the tournament will win the hand of Princess Lily. <br/>Jamie is determined to win.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>James Potter/Lily Evans Potter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Fem! Jily</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Heart of a Champion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/womeninthesequel/gifts">womeninthesequel</a>, <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/theroomofreq/gifts">theroomofreq</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Thanks to womeninthesequel and theroomofreq for encouraging me to end this with a kiss. It is now twice as long as it would have been otherwise and I hope you all enjoy my first contribution to fem!jily February!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Sirius laughed even as he shook his head in disbelief. “You’re in love with her, aren’t you?” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Just help me with this damn armor,” Jamie ignored the question as she tried to adjust the straps of her breast plate. Only it wasn’t her breast plate, it was </span>
  <span>Sirius’</span>
  <span> and it was too big, but she couldn't wear her own. If she wore her own armor, then they would know who she was, and it was quite likely they wouldn’t let her compete.  </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Jamie, what are you doing? They’re not gonna let you marry her.” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“The rules of the tourney state very clearly-” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I know the rules, but they’re still not going to let you marry her.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t know that.” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I do.” Sirius stepped behind Jamie and pushed her hands away so he could fix the armor in place properly. “They won’t care if you love her.” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“But I do.” Jamie said, staring resolutely in front of her. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“And what makes you think you’re going to go out there and beat all the men who are three times your size.” She could hear the concern in Sirius’ voice, note the worry in his creased brow. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Because I want to.” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you tell her that you were going to do this?” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Jamie huffed, reaching for her sword and sliding it into the </span>
  <span>sheath</span>
  <span> at her side. “Are you going to tell mum and dad?” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>She turned to face him, steeling her gaze on his. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He deflated a little. “Does she even know how you feel about her?” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you going to tell anyone what I’m doing?” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit, Jamie.” Sirius pushed his hair back and shook his head. “No. I’m not going to tell. But if you get yourself killed, I’m going to pummel you. And mum and dad will kill me. You understand?” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Do </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>understand? I </span>
  <span>have to</span>
  <span> do this. I </span>
  <em>
    <span>have</span>
  </em>
  <span> to.” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>They looked at one another in silence for a moment. Sirius understood better than anyone what it was that Jamie was feeling, this fire in her bones that wouldn’t let her sit still and do nothing, this ache in her chest that knocked the wind out of her every time she thought of someone else marrying </span>
  <em>
    <span>her </span>
  </em>
  <span>princess. The helplessness threatening to tear her to pieces. He understood that as well as he could and so he wasn’t going to tell her not to do it.  </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Whoever wins the tourney, wins the hand of Princess Lily.” Sirius said, voicing the words he’d stopped Jamie from saying earlier. “</span>
  <span>So</span>
  <span> go out there and win her hand, and tonight you’ll be married. And then I guess you’ll have to worry about stealing her heart.” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Jamie’s lips twitched, knowing that Sirius’ words were more for bravado than because he thought she could do it, but Jamie didn’t mind. She’d always thrived best when she was showing people that they were wrong. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“One thing at a time.” Jamie nodded, and then reached for her helmet and pulled it down over her face. There was nothing she could do about her shorter stature, but she thought that she looked </span>
  <span>convincing</span>
  <span>. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sirius nodded, giving his approval, and then she was ready. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>oOo</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The knots in Lily’s stomach had not allowed her to draw full breath since she woke that morning. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Lily was getting married tonight, and she had no idea to whom she would be wed. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>She sat beside her father, looking down onto the field of men who had all come to compete for her hand in marriage. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Any protests that Lily had expressed over the last couple of months had fallen on deaf ears. Her father was thrilled by the idea that her groom would be the champion of this tournament that he had </span>
  <span>orchestrated</span>
  <span>. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Lily had always enjoyed watching the tournaments. She liked watching the sword fighting and the archery, even the jousting, though it frightened her much more than the other events. But as she sat in her chair, between her father and her sister, she was not actually watching any of the events taking place before her. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Instead, she watched the sun race through the sky. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Much too soon, it was resting atop the stadium, about ready to nestle into the earth for the night. And with the setting sun, came the crowning of a champion. And then her wedding would follow. Her father had originally planned to hold the wedding a few weeks after the </span>
  <span>tournament, but</span>
  <span> had decided that having the wedding directly after the </span>
  <span>announcement</span>
  <span> of who had won would be much more fun. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Any moment now, she would know who her future husband would be. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You could at least pretend to be happy.” Petunia chided from her side. She was already married and with child. She probably would have loved a spectacle like this to have surrounded her nuptials, but instead, she quietly fell in love with an acceptable suitor, thrilling both of their parents and causing her to be entirely unsufferable up until the moment their father announced his plans for Lily’s betrothal. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Whoever wins the tourney, shall win the hand of Princess Lily.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>She was nothing more than a prize to be won and it made her sick. She looked over at her sister and pressed her lips together. She didn’t often find herself envying her older sister, but Petunia was in love with her husband, she had agreed to marry him because she had loved him when he asked for her hand. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He had asked for her hand. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Lily’s hand was being given away. And she didn’t even know who it was being given to. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The men were lining up now, in front of their box, removing their helmets as they awaited the final tally of the scores. Lily looked them all over carefully, seeing a few familiar faces but no one that made her hopeful that they had won. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>One of the participants kept their helmet on. They were standing at the end of the lineup, their hands crossed in front of them, and they had their head tilted toward the ground. He was smaller than the rest of the men, and Lily had no idea how he had performed since she’d not paid attention at any point in the day, but he had made it this far and that seemed impressive. The other men in the line were glancing in his direction every now and again. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“He did really good,” Her father said, leaning closer to her. He must have seen her inspecting him. “I don’t have a clue who he is, but no one </span>
  <span>thought</span>
  <span> he’d get this far.” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>She looked at her father, willing him to understand that there was something fundamentally wrong with agreeing to marry her off to a man he did not know in the slightest. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>But the king remained in high spirits as he waited for the announcement. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Lily folded her hands in her lap and turned back to the line of men before her. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The master of ceremonies stepped up in front of the line and faced the king. “Are you ready to meet your champion? Your new prince?” He spoke not only to the king, but to the crowd as well. And the crowd did not disappoint. They were all on their feet and cheering loudly. When the king stood, Petunia followed </span>
  <span>quickly,</span>
  <span> and Lily grabbed her skirts before standing as well. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>She could do this. She could stand and smile while the public watched. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“The winner of the tournament and Princess Lily’s hand in marriage is,” He gave the crowd a smile as he held onto his secret for a moment longer. A few of the men behind him started to fidget as they waited to hear him call their name. “Lord Potter!” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Lily froze as the crowd around her erupted in applause. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Lord </span>
  </em>
  <span>Potter? There wasn’t a Lord Potter, not one of age to compete in a tournament like this anyway. Lord Potter was an old man who loved walking through the castle gardens with his wife. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The smaller contestant at the end of the lineup, the one who hadn’t yet taken off their helmet stepped forward and Lily’s stomach tied itself into knots. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Remove your helmet, good sir!” Her father’s voice seemed too loud. “I didn’t know there was a young Lord Potter!” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>There wasn’t, Lily wanted to say. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>But then they were pulling off the helmet, and a tumble of black curls fell against the metal armor. The crowd didn’t realize what was happening right away, but as soon as Lily saw that self-satisfied smirk hiding a tidal wave of fear, she knew exactly what had happened. How many times had she seen that smile before? </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The crowd slowly got quiet as they realized that Lord Potter was </span>
  <span>actually Jamie</span>
  <span> Potter, the only daughter of the Potters. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>It was silent by the time Jamie had approached the dais where Lily and her family stood. Lily wanted to laugh, she wanted to throw her head back and fill the silence with her raucous laughter, because of course Jamie had decided to enter the tournament, of course she had kept her plans from Lily and of course she had somehow managed to win. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>And in winning, she had not only deeply insulted most of the men who had just competed for Lily’s hand, but she’d also shot her father’s plans to hell. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Lily pushed down her laughter and glanced over at her father, who’s face had gone red. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Explain yourself, girl.” His voice was low, just barely loud enough for Jamie to hear. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Jamie should have shrunk under the king’s glare, should have cowed herself just a little, even if it was only for show. She should have done something to subvert his anger. She didn’t though, she only raised a hand to run through her hair, pushing her curls back away from her face. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I wish to marry your daughter.” Jamie said loudly and clearly, letting everyone in the stands hear exactly what she said. The words echoed in Lily’s head, bouncing back and forth with no other thoughts to get in the way. “I entered the tournament, and I won fairly. I wish to claim the prize you have offered. I wish to marry Princess Lily.” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Lily felt the laughter pushing its way up again, and she couldn’t stop it this time. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Her father looked away from Jamie to look at her and Lily put a hand on his arm. “You did say that I was to marry whoever won the tournament.” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Which ever </span>
  <em>
    <span>man-”</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You never specified actually,” Jamie spoke up and Lily nearly rolled her eyes as the crowd broke their silence and started </span>
  <span>murmuring</span>
  <span>. The king turned on her, but Lily tugged on his arm again. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“What exactly can a man give you that Jamie cannot?” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Give me?” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes. None of this had anything to do with me.” Lily dropped her hand from her father’s arm as he opened his mouth and then shut it again. “Jamie is from a noble family of both wealth and political influence. She is probably a far better match than most of the men behind her. </span>
  <span>So</span>
  <span> what is it that she can't give you?” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“She can’t give </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> children.” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m your second </span>
  <em>
    <span>daughter</span>
  </em>
  <span>. You don’t need me to have children.” Lily tutted, allowing more laughter to escape. “She won the tournament. Will you stand by your word?” Part of her wished that Jamie would have let her in on what she had been planning, then she would have been able to prepare what to say to her father. But she was also glad that Jamie hadn’t told her. She would have spent the entire day on the edge of her seat, worried that Jamie would get hurt, or worse. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>She also would have had to wrestle with the question of whether or not she wanted Jamie to win. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I wish to marry Princess Lily.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>This was quite bold, though she should have expected nothing less. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Lily turned away from her father and looked down at Jamie, who still stood straight backed, her shoulders taut and her head held high. She looked afraid of nothing, but Lily could see her tells, even </span>
  <span>from</span>
  <span> here. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>She could see the clenched jaw and the white </span>
  <span>knuckles,</span>
  <span> she could tell that she was biting down on the sides of her cheeks and measuring her breaths. All tells that she’d come to know as well as her own from years of sitting or standing beside Jamie at various dinners and balls in the castle. Jamie had always been one of Lily’s dearest friends, she knew how to read her better than anyone. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>And she’d noticed the looks that Jamie had been giving her more recently. She’d noticed the prolonged touches and how Jamie had often stood on her tiptoes as though she were on the precipice of sharing something big and important, as though the words she held onto were pulling her forward, wanting nothing more than to be catapulted into existence. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>She’d kept those words to herself, and Lily had let her. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>And now, Jamie was looking up at her from the tournament field with those words spelled out clearly in her eyes. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Lily could still feel her father’s eyes on her. “Do you really think that none of this was done </span>
  <em>
    <span>for </span>
  </em>
  <span>you?” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Lily continued looking at Jamie. “If a man who I had not wanted to marry had won, you would have told me that I had to marry him so that you could keep your word. You made me a prize and forgot I was a girl.” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You wish to marry her?” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Lily hesitated for a moment. “She won the tournament.” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“This is absurd.” Petunia said from her </span>
  <span>other side</span>
  <span>, breaking her silence as well. “Father-”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>But the king interrupted Petunia with laughter of his own. “Ladies and gentlemen, your new champion,” He looked at Lily one last time and then flourished his hands out in front of him. “Jamie Potter!”</span>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>oOo</span>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The tournament had ended where the wedding ceremony began. Meant to be another spectacle for the common people to enjoy. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Jamie was still wearing Sirius’s armor, still sweaty and dirty and bruised from all the events of today, but almost as soon as the king had announced her to be the winner of the tournament, Jamie was standing beside Lily and the king was marrying the two of them. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>There was not one part of Jamie that wasn’t expecting to wake up in a hospital bed, Sirius beside her, letting her know that she’d been knocked off her horse and </span>
  <span>been</span>
  
  <span>unconscious</span>
  <span> for the last few hours. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>But she didn’t wake up. Events just kept unfolding. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The wedding ended, as quickly as it had begun, and then they were being ushered into the castle for a feast, a party for the nobility now. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>They were brought up to the castle in separate carriages, and as soon as the door closed behind Jamie, someone was stripping her of her armor and scrubbing her face clean. Her hair was braided, and she was stuffed into a dress. Someone painted her lips and cheeks. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Once Jamie was in the castle, she and Lily were announced and to a full room. Jamie did not have the chance to say anything to Lily at all before she was pulled into the crowd and Jamie was pulled off to the side by her mother and father. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>There was a whispered argument about how much danger Jamie had put herself in and how she shouldn't have lied to them like that, but then there were also whispered congratulations and hugs and her dad told her that he was very proud of her for beating all those men. All of that was a bit of a whirlwind, just as everything else this evening had been. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Jamie looked through the crowd, trying to spot Lily’s red hair somewhere in the crowd, and then someone was walking through the crowd letting them know that it was time to take their seats for dinner. “Right this way, ma’am.” They touched Jamie’s elbow and then led her across the room, to the royal family’s table. Lily was already </span>
  <span>seated,</span>
  <span> and Jamie was led to the empty seat next to her. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Lady Jamie!” The king laughed, “You’re much more recognizable now.” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Lily’s eyes found hers and Jamie tightened her grip on the arm of her chair. "Yes, they managed to clean me up during the carriage ride up here.” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Glad they were able to find you a dress.” The king was still smiling jovially, and Jamie didn’t know how Lily had convinced him to go through with the wedding, or why, but he did not seem at all upset that Jamie had tricked him into allowing her to marry his daughter. “I don’t think that anyone had packed one for your carriage.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Jamie reached for her mug and took a few swallows of her ale. “Right.” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I think that was the extra dress they had brought down for Lily.” Petunia said from the king’s other side. Unlike her father, she looked </span>
  <span>extremely</span>
  <span> put out that Jamie was now sitting at their table.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“It looks better on Jamie,” Lily </span>
  <span>said</span>
  <span> and Jamie felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as Lily reached over and put a hand on top of hers. She looked down at their hands and felt her mouth turn dry. She picked up her mug again.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>After she set it down, she managed a quiet, “Thank you.” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The following two hours were excruciating. She couldn’t tell what Lily was thinking, and she couldn’t ask her in front of everyone else. She kept looking at her and wondering if this was somehow all real, if Lily was actually her wife. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Her wife. </span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>She would choke on that word until Lily would turn to look at her, lightly comment on the food or the music, and Jamie would have to force words out that weren’t the words she wanted to say. Eventually, Lily took pity on her and stopped trying to make small talk. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>It felt as though days had passed before the two of them were finally alone in their new living quarters. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Lily took in the furnishings as Jamie stood in the middle of the room and let her eyes follow Lily. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you.” She had held it in for as long as she had been able. “Perhaps I should have told you before now, I’ve wanted to. For so long, I’ve wanted to.” She took a few steps toward Lily as the other girl spun around, emerald eyes darting to hers. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I would have had a heart attack watching the tournament today if I had known that you were competing.” Lily said after a moment. “I probably would have tried to talk you out of it. You could have been hurt.” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The same concern that she’d heard from Sirius and her parents, the concern that she would have expected to hear from Lily. But Jamie shook her head, she didn’t want to talk about what could have happened today. “We’re married now.” She said, looking at the floor. “I’m fine, I won, and now we’re married.” She looked back up at Lily and she was smiling. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Jamie.” Lily slowly started walking across the room. “Thank you for being brave enough to enter the tournament. And for winning! I’m quite glad to be ending the day without a husband.” Jamie took a breath, wondering if maybe Lily thought that Jamie had done this entirely selflessly, to save her from marrying a man that she didn’t know. But then Lily was standing directly in front of Jamie. She took Jaime’s chin in her hand and tilted her head down slightly. “I’m glad to be your wife. That you are my wife.” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>She couldn’t breathe. She stared down at Lily and tried to pull in a full breath, but she couldn't, Lily’s words were drowning her, and it felt like heaven. Lily’s thumb brushed over Jamie’s chin, her nail lightly grazing against her bottom lip and Jamie reached out, putting her hands on Lily’s hips as she closed her eyes.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Jamie,” Lily’s voice was soft. Soft in a way that Jamie had never heard before. Soft in a way that dug at her belly and tugged her closer. Her grip on Lily’s hips tightened and then Lily’s other hand was running up her arm. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Lily,” Hardly a breath of a word, hardly a question. “May I kiss you?” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Her eyes flashed open, searching Lily’s face as she waited for an answer. Lily might not feel for Jamie exactly what Jamie felt for her yet, but she was definitely feeling something and seeing that written on Lily’s face tugged the corners of Jamie’s mouth upward.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Lily nodded, ever so slightly, moving her hand from Jamie’s chin to the base of her neck and tugging her closer. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Their lips met and Jamie was being devoured. She pulled Lily flush up against her, digging her fingers into her skirts as Lily’s fingers threaded through her hair. It was like a bolt of lightning had struck her, like the air was being pulled from her lungs after falling into icy waters, and Jamie wanted more. She always wanted more of Lily. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Lily’s lips moved fiendishly under Jamie’s, too fast for Jamie to savor, too slowly to be properly ravished. Jamie melted against Lily, letting her take whatever she wanted, taking for herself whatever Lily offered. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>She kept her mouth against Lily’s until the feeling of having the air pulled from her lungs was more of a painful ache and she </span>
  <span>actually did</span>
  <span> need to breathe. She kept their foreheads together as she pulled back, her breathing ragged and Lily’s matching. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Lily laughed after a moment and Jamie was quick to follow, wrapping her arms around Lily’s waist and burying her face in her shoulder. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Are we really married.” Lily said, still laughing, her hand still in Jamie’s hair. “Everything happened so fast today.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Jamie pressed her lips together and pulled back so she could look Lily in the eye. “I am your wife, you are mine, and I will love you until the very end.” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Lily took a big slow breath that filled her chest and then she flung her arms around Jamie’s neck. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Jamie didn’t quite believe that this was all happening either, not yet. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>But with more time and kisses, perhaps it would all start to feel real. </span>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
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